Friday, December 31, 1920

Fair mild damp winter day. Arose 10 A.M. Helped father etc. Breakfast. Did odd jobs. Dinner. Repaired tire chains. Took short nap. Unloaded 70 cases eggs. Delivered eggs. Candled eggs. Lay down with intention of going to Watch night service but slept from 8:30 P.M. to 9 A.M. Ruth to E.C. dance with Lambert.

**********
Watch Night originated with the Methodist church. According to Wikipedia,

The founder of the Methodist Church, John Wesley, originated watch night services in 1740, sometimes calling them Covenant Renewal Services.[2][3] The services provided Methodist Christians with a godly alternative to times of drunken revelry, such as Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.[2] Today, a Methodist watch night service includes singing, spontaneous prayers and testimonials, as well as scripture readings; the liturgy for this service is found in The United Methodist Book of Worship.[1][4]

I am not sure who Lambert was or why Ruth would be going to a dance with him, but there was a David Lambert, a 30-year-old single realtor, who lived in Schenectady at the time. But where was Mark? Hmmm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This marks the end of Datebook 1920. It's been an enjoyable year of tracking the adventures of Stanford Stillman Closson of Schenectady, NY. I'll be continuing his diary in my next blog, Datebook 1921, the year Stanford graduates from college. What will he do this year? Will he continue his friendship with Merlin Finch and his romance with Dorothea Reynolds? To find out, stay tuned!

Thursday, December 30, 1920

Fair mild bright damp day. Arose 9:45 A.M. Chored around. Beat rugs etc. Dinner. Greased Ford. Down town with H.H. Bought clothing. Bowled. To Marion B's with D.S.R., Ruth, H.H. & Mark Sawyer. Little party. Fine time. Walked home. To bed 2:30 A.M.

**********
Ah, I guess this is Stanford's New Year's Eve Party. The only couple who don't carry on into the future is Stanford and Dorothea. I wonder why? We may never know.

Wednesday, December 29, 1920

PARKERS CORNERS: - mild, overcast. Arose 7:45 A.M. Breakfast - sausage etc. Played piano. Wiped dishes. Back to city 11 A.M. Home. Read letters, paper etc. Took nap. Candled eggs with H.H. Bowled 1 game at Morse. To Barcli with D.S.R. Enjoyable evening. To 215 P.B. To bed 1 A.M.

**********
Well, it looks like Stanford stayed overnight at Dorothea's house. Interesting! Are they getting serious at this point? I wondered what happened to the two of them later?

Stanford went to the Kingsbury's house again. No other information about that.

Tuesday, December 28, 1920

Beautiful bright windy clear day. Arose 8:30 A.M. Cleaned up and dressed. Read. Around town with D.S.R. and Lizz in Dodge Limousine and thence to Parkers Corners. Dinner. Exercise shoving straw around. To Guilderland Center with D.S.R. and Mr. Stalker hunting up kittle. Read and Visited. Supper. Qualifications for attendance, Old Maid, Widow or Bachelor. Mrs. Houck, Mr. & Miss Houck, Mr. Witherwax. Played games in evening. Took people home. Talked. Read, etc. TO BED 1 A.M.

**********
Guilderland Center is a town about 9 miles southwest of Schenectady. Not sure what Stanford means by "kittle" here. Anyone have a guess?

I guess Stanford was making a joke about the guests they had for supper that evening. Witherwax is probably Harry Witherwax, who in 1920 was a widower of 48 living in Guilderland. Mr. and Miss Houck are probably Hattie and Frank Houck, aged 38 and 40, respectively, single siblings living in Guilderland. Not sure, but Mrs. Houck could be Anna Houck, a widow living in Albany. It's not clear how Stanford knows these folks, but since Stanford is at the Reynolds', perhaps the guests are their friends. 

Monday, December 27, 1920

Overcast cool day. About 5 or 6 inches snow. First of any account for the year. Arose 9 A.M. Breakfast. Helped father. Cleaned walk. Over to Church to help John Roberts take platform down etc. Dinner. Candled eggs. Played games. Took bath etc. To bed 9:30 P.M.

**********
I'm assuming the platform had something to do with Christmas? The only John Roberts I could find in Schenectady was a butcher, married to Laura, and at the time he had 8 children. By 1930 he had 10 kids. He may be the one Stanford spoke of twice in his diary.

Sunday, December 26, 1920

Beautiful, bright, cool. No snow on ground. Arose 9:45 A.M. Fooled around. Cleaned up. Took bath. To S.S. Merlin & I to Reynolds to CHICKEN dinner. Fooled around in P.M. In to E.L. and Church. Sunday School exercises. Good. Saw Reynolds off. Lunch at home. To BED 11:15 P.M.

**********
I wonder where Reynolds went?

Saturday, December 25, 1920

Beautiful, bright cool ideal Christmas day. Arose 3:30 A.M. To 215 P.B. Out with D.S. R. in Kingsbury's Kar to sing Carols with E.L. 26 in 4 cars. To Church for breakfast. Home. Distribution of gifts around tree. Fooled around. Bowled at Morse with H.H. Home. To Party at Gertrude Anthony's house with D.S.R. 16 present. Good time. To bed 2:30 A.M.

**********
I have at last identified the Kingsburys, mentioned a few times in Stanford's diary this year, thanks to his clue about where they live: 215 P.B.[Parkwood Boulevard]. They are Whalen and Agnes Kingsbury, and they have two sons, Charles and Fred, and an Irish servant, Martha McCabe. In 1920 Mr. Kingsbury worked at a Warehouse, perhaps the one Stanford worked at the previous summer.

I think Stanford's pictures of what he did that day (note the M.T. for mistletoe) are cute!

Friday, December 24, 1920

Fair cool dusty breezy winter day. Arose 8 A.M. Candled eggs. Helped father etc. Dinner. Got hair cut. Down street etc. Home in evening. Read. Cleaned up room. Did up presents etc. Took bath. To bed 9:30 P.M. Thankful for health, friends etc.

**********

Thursday, December 23, 1920

Mild wet nasty day. Intermittent sunshine and cloudiness. Arose 9:10 A.M. Breakfast. Read paper etc. Dinner. Candled eggs. Supper. To Scotia at night to see Edison Drafting School beat Scotia H.S. Basket Ball. Bowled at Kinums with M.J.F. [Merlin J. Finch] To bed 11:30 PM.

**********
The Edison Drafting School was a vocational school in Schenectady, started by General Electric, of course. Here is some information about it from a 1907 issue of American Machinist.

Below is an article from a January 1920 Schenectady newspaper detailing a basketball game between Edison Drafting School and Milne High in Albany:

Notice that one of the players on the Edison team is Finch. That may be Stanford's interest in going to the game--Merlin Finch was on the team. Note, too, that the team represents all the G.E. apprentices (not just the drafting apprentices), one of whom is Finch, at that time a patternmaker's apprentice.

In this game against Milne, Finch, the team's center, scored 8 points in their win.

Wednesday, December 22, 1920

Rain at night. Very Slippery. Overcast cool day. Little snow. Arose 7:30 A.M. Studied. Breakfast etc. To College 9 A.M. to 12:20 M. Dinner. Wrote in diary etc. Down street with H.H. Bowled at Morse 179-123-196. Did Christmas shopping. Home. Supper. Sent out cards, did up packages etc. Down to P.O. Watched bowling at Morse. To bed 10:30 P.M.

**********

Tuesday, December 21, 1920

Wonderful bright cool clear day. Arose 7 A.M. Studied. Breakfast. To College 8 A.M. - 12:20 M. Dinner. Took nap. To Library to study. Supper. Down town. Family & Goewey to Uncle Henry's 92nd Birthday party. Good crowd. Fine time. To bed 1 A.M.

**********
Goewey is Hobart Goewey, one of Stanford's classmates. He has made several appearances in Stanford's diary. I have acquired a photo that went along with a short "bio" of him published in the 1921 Garnet Yearbook.

He does indeed become a minister, like his friend Stanford. In 1940, he is shown as being married to Ethel and having a 10 year old child, Elizabeth; he is a minister for the First Methodist Church of Newton, MA. I wonder if Ethel is the one whose picture he kept under his pillow?

By 1951 he has moved back to the Albany area, living in Providence, NY and serving as the Pastor for the Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church. According to a family tree, he died in 1965.

Monday, December 20, 1920

Overcast cool autumn day. No snow on ground. Arose 8 A.M. Helped father. To College 9-12:30 M. Dinner. Uncle Charlie, Maude and baby present. Wrote in diary etc. Took short nap. Wrote letter. Down to P.O. etc. Maude & baby here overnight. To bed 10:30 P.M.

**********
I was looking at my post on Maude Love, and she was 41 in 1920. The baby was born when she was about 39 or 40, therefore. I wonder why she is never visiting the Clossons with her husband? 

Sunday, December 19, 1920

E.L. CONTEST 1st NIGHT SARATOGA 44/45 = 97%  SCH'DY 67/66 = 101%

Beautiful bright cool clear fall day. Arose 9:45 A.M. Breakfast. Toilet. To Church & S.S. Good turnout. Drove Ruth, Sawyer, H.H. Marion & I to Reynolds' home. Fine time. Lunch. To E.L. 67 out. To Church and fireside social. Good music. Popcorn & apples. To Dr. Frick & Father & Mother home. Out to Parkers Corners. To bed 1:15 A.M.

**********
As you may recall, Dr. Frick is their new pastor.

Interesting that now Sawyer and Marion are regulars in the Closson social outings.

Saturday, December 18, 1920

Overcast cool day. Some snow flurries. Arose 7 A.M. Breakfast etc. To College. Up to Chapel. Dinner. Down town with Ruth. Out after greens to trim porch. Cleaned up. To Union-Columbia B.B. game. Score 22-27 with D.S.R. To bed 1 A.M.

**********

Friday, December 17, 1920

Overcast mild damp hazy day. Arose 8 A.M. Read paper. Breakfast. Helped father. To College 9-11 A.M. Home. Played piano. Up to Chapel. Dinner. Studied. Downstreet. Bowled at Morse. Bought gifts. Supper. Candled eggs. Took bath. To bed 11 P.M.

**********

Thursday, December 16, 1920

Overcast mild day. Some flurries of snow. Arose 6:40 A.M. Studied. Breakfast. To College 8-11 A.M. Home. Finished letter to Nellie. To P.O. Candled eggs. Studied. Down town with Ruth. To Phi Nu Theta fraternity meeting. Mr. Hopkins of Sigma Nu and Dean Garis present. Talked refreshments etc. To bed 11:45.

**********
Dean Garis is Charles Frederick Fleming Garis, who was the Dean of Students from 1919 and Professor of Mathematics from 1908.

Professor Garis was born in Pennsylvania in 1881. He graduated from Lafayette University  with a Bachelor's degree in 1903 and Master's in 1906. Union was the only college he taught at. He lived in Schenectady in 1920 with his wife Rose and daughter Drusilla. He was tall and slender with blue eyes and brown hair, according to his WWI draft registration.

His father was Cornelius Garis, who was an inventor. I saw three patents that he was awarded for small devices such as a button that didn't need to be sewn because it had a double shank that could be pierced through fabric and then folded back on the other side to make it stay in place.

Wednesday, December 15, 1920

Beautiful bright clear mild day. Arose 7 A.M. Studied. Breakfast etc. To College 9-11 A.M. Home. Wrote in diary. Read paper etc. Up to Chapel. Dinner. Unloaded eggs. Wrote letter. Down town with H.H. Supper. Wrote letter to Nellie. Studied. To bed 10:30 P.M.

**********

Tuesday, December 14, 1920

Beautiful rainbow at 4 P.M. Very wet mild day. Hard rain all day. River high. No snow on ground. Arose 7 A.M. Breakfast etc. To College 8-11 A.M. Home. Read paper etc. Helped father. Up to Chapel. Dinner. Took nap. Candled eggs. Studied. Bowled before and after watching basketball at Y. E.M.E.S.S. 24  E.B.S.S. 4. To bed 11:30 P.M.

**********
What did Stanford read in the newspaper that day? Here is a possibility, part of page 2 of the Schenectady Gazette for December 14, 1920:

Monday, December 13, 1920

Overcast mild damp muggy day. Arose 8:10 A.M. Read paper. Breakfast. Helped father. To College 9 A.M.-12:50 M. Dinner. Chored around house. Read, Studied etc. Up to College. To public library. Supper. To Miles theatre to see "Hamlet" by Walter Hampden Co. Fine. Bowled 1 game with H.H. "219." TO BED 12 P.M. Thankful for health.

**********
Walter Hampden was a very popular, well known and talented stage and screen actor of the early 20th century. Here is a link to his biography on IMDb: Walter Hampden.

At left is a publicity photo of Walter Hampden around 1913.


Below is an ad for the production Stanford went to see. It appeared in the Amsterdam newspaper:

Sunday, December 12, 1920

Beautiful bright cool clear day. Arose 9:30 a.M. Breakfast. Played piano etc. Cleaned up room. Took bath. Out walking from 1:15 to 2 P.M. Dinner. Dodo here to dinner. Out walking with Ruth & D.S.R. Read. To E.L. and Church & Social hour. To bed 10:15 P.M.

**********

Saturday, December 11, 1920

Cool bright damp clear autumn day. Arose 6:45 A.M. Made toilet. Studied. Breakfast. To College 8-11 A.M. Home. Shaved etc. Up to chapel. Family + Uncle John & Aunt Gertie up to Ed Clossons for dinner. Fine eats. Good time. To Union-State College game. Score 27-23. Watched dancing. Read at Lodge. To bed 11:45 P.M.

**********
To make one's toilet at the time meant to dress or groom oneself (in case anyone out there was wondering).

Friday, December 10, 1920

Overcast mild. Some rain in P.M. Arose 7:15 A.M. Breakfast. Helped father. To College 9 A.M. - 12:15 M. Dinner. Read. To rhetoric 2:30:3:30 P.M. Got hair cut. Home. Wrote in diary etc. Lunch. Family + Marian Benedict and Mark Sawyer to Burnt Hills Baptist supper and fair. I bowled with Church League 2 games 153-164. Lost 3 games. Home with Dillingham in S.S. Studied. Talked with folks. To bed 11:15 P.M.

**********
So we have Marian Benedict and Mark Sawyer pretty regularly now. Interesting!

Thursday, December 9, 1920

Beautiful bright cool clear day. Arose 7:30 A.M. Breakfast. To College 8 A.M. - 12:15 M. Dinner. Wrote in diary. Played piano etc. Candled eggs with S.T.C. Over to Church to help girls. Supper. To Phi Nu Theta meeting. Visited, talked, studied etc. To bed 10:30 P.M.

**********

Wednesday, December 8, 1920

Most beautiful bright cool sunny day. Arose 8 A.M. Breakfast etc. To College 9 A.M.  to 12:15 M. Dinner etc. Mother, H.H. and I via Ford to Park Site. Closed up things for winter. Home. To Library. Supper. Studied. Wrote letters etc. To bed 10 P.M. Thankful.

**********

Tuesday, December 7, 1920

SAMUEL CORNELL D K.Y. HERE: TO ESPERANCE.
Beautiful bright cool clear fall day. Arose 7 A.M. Breakfast. Helped father. To College 8 A.M. to 12:15 M. Home. Dinner. Read paper etc. Candled eggs. Up to college. Downtown. Bowled. Supper. Over to Church to E.L. business meeting. Good time. Bowled at Morse. Home. Wrote in diary. Fixed up accounts. To bed 1 A.M.

**********

Monday, December 6, 1920

Arose on sleeper at Albany 5:45 A.M. To Sch'dy on 6:20 A.M. trolley. Breakfast home. Talked etc. To College 9 A.M. to 12:30 M. Read paper. Carried wood down cellar. Took nap. Supper. Bowled at Morse. Home. Studied etc. To bed 10 P.M. Thankful for all things.

**********

Sunday, December 5, 1920

WONDERFUL CONFERENCE

Overcast. Some rain. Arose 7:45 A.M. Routine. Breakfast 8:15. Sang around piano in Blue room. Morning session in Presbyterian Church of Aurora. Wilbert Smith spoke. Communion service also. Dinner at 12:30 M. Afternoon session 2-5 P.M. Macedonian call by Miss Ling of China, Cornell man for Japan, Josiah Das of Union for India. Call answered by Wilbert Smith. Open question box. Delegation meeting. Supper evening session 7-8:30 P.M. Resolutions, new officers etc. Testimonies. Dr. Eckerson closed. Special train to Auburn. To Syracuse. Sleeper to Albany with State College and Skidmore. Meeting on train. To BED 12:30.

**********
The three entries describing the Conference were quite long and had to be written in a very small hand in order to fit into the small space of the datebook's daily block. Stanford seemed to want to tell as much of the details of the trip as he could manage to fit. He must have really enjoyed the conference.

Saturday, December 4, 1920

Overcast cool day. Arose 7:30 A.M. Dressed. Delegation Meeting . Breakfast 8:15 A.M. All meals in College dining Hall. Fine service and good eats. 250 delegates and same students. Walked around. To morning session 9-11 A.M. Open discussion conducted by Tom Blasedale on college work and methods. Dr. Dorman spoke on Hospital work in Beirut Syria. Fine. Took walk etc. Conference picture at 12 BELLS. Dinner at 12:30 M. Delegation meeting 1:15. Afternoon session 2-3 P.M. Mr. Burton St. John spoke on types of Missionary service. Good. Recreation. Took walks with fellows. Shoe shine. Play "Suppressed Desires." Banquet 6:30 P.M. College banners on wall. Great yells and songs. Wells girls snake dance. Toasts. Evening session. Miss Hoxie spoke. Delegation Meeting. To bed 11:30 P.M.

**********
Since I'd never heard of a snake dance, I looked it up and found it was a spirit raising dance that must have involved students snaking around the gymnasium dancing and no doubt singing cheers.

I didn't know that Beirut was ever part of Syria, but it was, at least for a time, according to the Wikipedia article on the city that included this passage:

In 1888, Beirut was made capital of a vilayet (governorate) in Syria,[43] including the sanjaks (prefectures) Latakia, Tripoli, Beirut, Acre and Bekaa.[44] By this time, Beirut had grown into a cosmopolitan city and had close links with Europe and the United States. It also became a centre of missionary activity that spawned educational institutions, such as the American University of Beirut. Provided with water from a British company and gas from a French one, silk exports to Europe came to dominate the local economy. After French engineers established a modern harbor in 1894 and a rail link across Lebanon to Damascus and Aleppo in 1907, much of the trade was carried by French ships to Marseille. French influence in the area soon exceeded that of any other European power. The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica reported a population consisting of 36,000 Muslims, 77,000 Christians, 2,500 Jews, 400 Druze and 4,100 foreigners. At the start of the 20th century, Salim Ali Salam was one of the most prominent figures in Beirut, holding numerous public positions including deputy from Beirut to the Ottoman parliament and President of the Municipality of Beirut. Given his modern way of life, the emergence of Salim Ali Salam as a public figure constituted a transformation in terms of the social development of the city.

Friday, December 3, 1920

YELLS  SONGS  H.H. H. SKIDMORE ON TRAIN WITH US.

Overcast cool. Arose 7:30 A.M. To College 9-11 A.M. Uncle Charlie here to dinner. Jeff Ford left. Left 12:47 M. with Union delegation for Wells College at Aurora, N.Y. at Cayuga Lake to attend Student Volunteer Convention. 24 from Union to Auburn by trolley. Lunch. To Aurora by tram. Find reception. Escorted by Wells student. Registered. Arrived 7:45 P.M. To evening session Lecture and slides by Mr. Lewis, Methodist Board. Talk by Dr. Eckerson of China on World Conditions. Ate at Grays. Stayed at Glen Park Hall Room 11 Junior Dormitory. Alta Randles room, a friend of Ruth's. Fooled around. To bed 12:30 P.M. Lights off at 12 P.M.

**********
Well, here is the Student Volunteer Convention again. The last one was in February, so they must have it more than once a year.

I'm guessing the young men were singing their Union College yells and songs on the train to pass the time as they journeyed to their conference.

The 1921 Union College Yearbook records the yells and songs of their class. Below are two pages from that publication containing samples.

Thursday, December 2, 1920

Fair cool windy autumn day. Arose 7:15 A.M. Breakfast. Read paper. To College 8 A.M.to 12:15 M. Dinner. Helped S.T. clean out eaves. Read, studied, played etc. Supper. Home in evening. Getting Packed up for Wells. Took bath. To bed 11 P.M. Thankful.

**********

Wednesday, December 1, 1920

Rainy wet cool dark day. Arose 7:30 A.M. Studied etc. To college 9 A.M. to 12:15 M. Dinner. Visited with Jeff. Studied. Unloaded and candled eggs. Supper. Studied. Wrote letter to D.S.R. Talked, played piano etc. Ate ice cream. Took mail down to P.O. To bed 10:30 P.M. Thankful for health, friends, education. etc.

**********
Dorothea is still in the picture, it seems. Still can't find Jeff Ford. Maybe I'll get more clues later.